HUNTSVILLE, Utah??? The mayor of a Utah town is apologizing over an entry in its annual Fourth of July parade that some say went too far in poking fun at President Barack Obama.
Someone wearing an Obama mask and a suit walked next to a limousine with a sign reading, "Huntsville Welcomes the Obama Farewell Tour?"
But it was a banner on the back, "Ask About Our Assault Gun Plan!" with "Call Eric Holder" in smaller letters next to it, that some spectators say crossed the line.
"The Fourth of July celebration is to celebrate unity and being a country," said DeDe Fluette of Ogden. "This was promoting hate; this was promoting violence against the leader of our country. It was not appropriate in a Fourth of July parade."
Donn Owen of Ogden criticized what he called the "racist" Obama mask worn by someone who danced and glad-handed spectators along the route of the town-sponsored parade. The Obama impersonator was accompanied by boys dressed as Secret Service agents.
"It was just way out of line," Owen told Ogden's Standard-Examiner. "It's like white men years ago" dressing in blackface.
Huntsville Mayor Jim Truett issued an apology, saying the last-minute entry would not have been allowed in the parade had town officials known about it beforehand.
"All we can do is apologize," Truett said. "Was it in bad taste? Probably. Obviously, (its) political views do not represent the town council or town. ... We don't want people thinking we're just a bunch of racists."
Dave Clawson said his entry wasn't racist or a threat to the president, and he won't apologize for it.
"We were just expressing a little political humor, and that's just fine," he said.
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